Man Gets 45yrs Jail Term For Stealing Governor's Phone



Is this justice or injustice, considering what happens to thieving politicians in Nigerians? A 31-year-old man, Kelvin Ighodalo, has been sentenced to 45-year imprisonment by an Osogbo High Court for stealing a N50,000 Sony Ericsson phone belonging to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.

To the surprise of many, Justice Oyejide Falola in his ruling didn't give an option of fine...
He found Ighodalo guilty on six counts, which included conspiracy, stealing and fraud. Ighodalo stole the phone from the pocket of Aregbesola on November 27, 2010, when the governor was being inaugurated at Government Technical College, Osogbo.

He was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment for three counts and five years for three counts, which included impersonation, obtaining property by falsehood and collusion. The sentence will run concurrently.

Justice Falola, who insisted that Ighodalo deserved the jail term, held that the convict used the phone to obtain N500,000 from Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, the Owa of Ilesa, while he obtained N200,000 from Mr Shengen Rahman, an associate of the governor.

Counsel to Ighodalo, Mr. Ameachi Ngwu, prayed the court to commit the young man to community service, considering the offence, but his plea was ignored.